Two Lotto Players in O.C. Will Split $23-Million Jackpot

A $23-million Lotto prize will be split between two winners in Orange County, state lottery officials announced Thursday.

Bill Arsenault, an Aliso Viejo businessman, chose to take his half of the jackpot in a lump sum and will receive about $5.5 million, said Norma Minas, a spokeswoman for the California Lottery. The other winner, Minas said, has not yet come forward to claim the prize.

Arsenault, 42, purchased his winning ticket Tuesday at a Circle K on Aliso Creek Road in Aliso Viejo.

“He bought it on a whim while he was getting gas,” Minas said. “This morning he checked the drawing results on the lottery’s Web site and yelled, ‘I won!’ His wife, Tracy, said, ‘No, you didn’t,’ and they got into a little tiff because apparently he had thought he’d won one before. They plan to buy a bigger house and use some of the money for their children and business.”

The second winning ticket was purchased at a Sav-On Drugs store on Alton Parkway in Irvine, Minas said. That winner has 180 days to claim the prize.